


An Honourable Blindness

by A_mael



Category: Saiyuki
Genre: Gen, Prompt Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-15
Updated: 2014-12-15
Packaged: 2018-03-01 13:42:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2775122
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_mael/pseuds/A_mael
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Kou-tachi take a rare day off and discover something wholly unexpected. Sometimes, nothing is honourable.</p>
<p>Prompted by Macavitykitsune.</p>
            </blockquote>





	An Honourable Blindness

**Author's Note:**

  * For [macavitykitsune](https://archiveofourown.org/users/macavitykitsune/gifts).



It was a festival, and a large one. Harvest here was a time for celebration and this year the harvest had been unexpectedly good, despite the current state of things in the world at large. A seven-town collaboration, this festival was the high point of the year, when people gathered to party, drink, buy, sell and trade in preparation for the fallow season ahead.

Naturally, Lirin had talked Kougaiji into taking her to it. Some of her favorite foods were prepared only at this time of year, and she loved the sights, sounds and smells. The night stalls and games, the colorful jewelry and blankets, all were balm to her increasingly frazzled nerves. Things had been getting tense around Houtou castle, and Lirin was often far more troubled by these things than anyone else. It was her mother’s doing, after all, and sometimes she felt partly responsible for the outrageous things Gyokumen Koushu got up to.

Kougaiji, for his part, never blamed his sweet little sister for anything. She was a bottomless pit of constant hunger, a bit of an airhead sometimes and kind of a pain in the ass a lot of the time, but she was his family, and he adored her. When she had come running to him in the hall near their common room, shrieking excitedly about this festival thing, he found that he couldn't say no, agreeing that they should all go together.

Three days later, Kougaiji, Lirin, Yaone and Dokugakuji had clambered aboard two long-distance flying dragons and headed out. The town hosting the festival this year was only a matter of an hour’s flight from the castle, and it was a pleasant night. It was surprisingly relaxing to get away, and everyone was in good spirits by the time they arrived.

Almost the moment they had dismounted, Lirin was off at a run, with Yaone chasing, and calling desperately after her. She tended to take Kougaiji’s request to keep an eye on his little sister very seriously. Dokugakuji and Kougaiji looked at each other for a moment over their respective tethering of the dragons; Doku shook his head as he smiled; Lirin was a constant source of amusement to them both, unless they were in battle. Fortunately, she needed less looking after when fighting than at any other time. When the dragons were secure, they set off in search of their wayward companions.

******

The evening wore on, drifting sweetly into the past. They ate more than was good for them; Kou won stuffed animals at games for both his little sister and Yaone. Doku entered a strength contest and only lost by a fraction...to a man who was so muscle bound that Lirin was sorely tempted to ask if he had been born without a neck, or had he lost it in some kind of accident?

After stopping at yet one more of the brightly lit night stalls in order to get yet another sweetbean jam bun for Lirin, Kou and Doku strolled slowly, falling slightly behind the others. They discussed the current state of affairs at Houtou castle, their most recent run-ins with Nii, and plans for the uncertain future. Keeping their voices pitched low, they walked more and more slowly while Lirin and Yaone practically dashed on ahead. Neither of them noticed when Lirin zipped around the side of one of the stalls, nor when Yaone stopped just short of rounding the same corner, herself.

Somewhere off to their left, a woman shrieked with laughter, drawing their gazes that way. Kougaiji’s mouth twitched into a small smile. He'd like to hear such sounds more often. He would like it if his first reaction hadn't been to pull into a fighting stance, if Dokugakuji hadn't instantly stood ready to call his weapon. He watched as the woman who had turned to be enfolded by the arms of the man who had surprised her. She seemed so carefree; Kou thought of Yaone and Lirin. Would they ever be allowed to be so completely at ease? Perhaps, when this whole thing was over...if there was anything light left in them, then.

His attention still thus engaged, Kou strolled right into Yaone. His right hip collided with hers and he automatically reached out to steady her. She let out a small squeak of surprise, and straightened. Her face flushed deeply, and Kou belatedly realised that he had rather a firm grasp on her bottom. He hurriedly released her as his color rose to match hers and he offered a muttered litany of apologies.

Dokugakuji suppressed a smile of his own as he watched with profound amusement. Though he had once had his eye on Yaone for himself, he had to admit that her beauty, fierce determination and gentle nature suited Kougaiji far better than they would, him. He looked forward to the day when he would serve them both as his King and Queen.

Once the mess had been straightened out and everyone had returned to their normal colours, Kou finally thought to inquire about Yaone’s reason for stopping.

She flushed again and stammered, “Umm...there’s just...I saw...perhaps you should take a look, my lord.” Stepping back, she pointed down the space perpendicular to the street where they stood, along the side of a stall.Curious, Kougaiji settled a puzzled look on her before moving around the corner to see what she was talking about.

“Oh,” was all he could think to say. That piqued Doku's interest, and he followed. The were multitudes of people there before him, but instantly his gaze was drawn to what Yaone meant. For a long moment he simply stared, startled and confounded.

About a block away Dokugakuji's half-brother Gojyo wandered through the throngs of people. It took an embarrassingly long moment for Doku to figure out that the person with him, arms cradling a medium-sized stuffed toy, was Hakkai. The two meandered along the street, their long legs falling precisely in step as they weaved through the crowd. Gojyo had his right arm curled comfortably around Hakkai’s shoulders and even at this distance, Dokugakuji could discern the tiny, serene smile that graced Hakkai’s pretty face. For some reason he felt like an intruder on this scene and it disturbed him.

As the three of them watched, Gojyo crooked the arm that was wrapped around Hakkai, pulling the dark head close. He tilted his head to place his mouth next to Hakkai’s ear, his deep crimson hair falling forward to conceal his face. Gojyo pulled back with a grin, and Hakkai turned his head to look at him. The serene smile widened, and the look they shared made Dokugakuji feel even more like a voyeur.

He dropped his eyes to look at the ground until he felt a little less shaken, a little less guilty for seeing something of such intense intimacy. When he raised his head, Kougaiji fixed him with a questioning gaze. Doku answered only with a slight nod.

“What do we do, Kou?” he asked.

“What do you mean?” Kougaiji returned, sounding just as nonplussed as Doku felt.

“Well...we could use it somehow,” he offered. He felt unclean for even thinking it, but he had sworn himself to Kougaiji, and he felt obliged. “It’s a weakness.”

Kou held his gaze for a beat, considering this. His eyes flicked to Yaone for an instant, then settled back on Doku.

“No,” he stated finally. His voice was firm. “No, it would be a dirty fight, even if it should work. There is no valour in such tactics, and no honour in winning by them.”

Yaone, who had stood as if paralysed through this exchange, visibly relaxed as well. She fixed Kougaiji with a dazzling smile that he pretended not to notice and ran off in search of Lirin, who had once again disappeared.

Doku followed Kou in the same direction Yaone had gone and tried very hard not to show his pride in his lord, son of the evil Gyumaoh, grudging servant of his father’s mistress and devoted child of a mother imprisoned, who had seen the means for a devious victory but who had instead chosen an honourable blindness.


End file.
